Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Radio With A Purpose: Bill Siemering On NPR's Original Mission Statement
With the help of Bill Siemering, NPR was able to identify its core values and goal to diversify its storytelling.
(
Wanyu Zhang
)
When I was six years old, I knew that radio was a medium with a purpose. Twice a day, my teacher in a rural school turned on the radio and we listened to the Wisconsin School of the Air and I learned art, music, science and nature studies listening to the radio. This was but one example of the Wisconsin Idea that "the boundaries of the campus are the boundaries of the state."
The NPR Purposes did not just spring forth one day; it was the result of many experiences. One of the most significant was when I established a storefront studio in the heart of the Black community in Buffalo to originate programming on WBFO, SUNY Buffalo. The extensive programming was planned and produced by residents of the community; most had no broadcast experience. Radio is easy to learn.
As the result of this, I wrote in a publication published in 1969:
To allow minority views to be unrepresented or misrepresented is to deny freedom of choice and threaten the life of the democracy. While commercial media have ignored the pluralism of society, the future of public broadcasting may be to capitalize on this diversity.
Support for LAist comes from
When — as a member of the NPR founding board of directors — I was asked to write the Purposes, I wanted to differentiate public radio from educational and commercial radio and from PBS. I wanted to make the case for radio as a medium because it had been disparaged. The transition from educational to public meant inclusion, for everyone. Program and editorial decisions would be made by merit not by ratings. I wanted it to be both aspirational and practical.
Radio with a purpose.
Read the original NPR Purposes through the slideshow below.
National Public Radio Purposes (1970)
National Public Radio will serve the individual: it will promote personal growth; it will regard the individual differences among men with respect and joy rather than derision and hate; it will celebrate the human experience as infinitely varied rather than vacuous and banal; it will encourage a sense of active constructive participation, rather than apathetic helplessness.
National Public Radio, through live interconnection and other distribution systems, will be the primary national non-commercial program service. Public radio stations will be a source for programming input as well as program dissemination. The potentials of live interconnection will be exploited, the art and the enjoyment of the sound medium will be advanced.
In its cultural mode, National Public Radio will preserve and transmit the cultural past, will encourage and broadcast the work of contemporary artists and provide listeners with an aural esthetic experience which enriches and gives meaning to the human spirit.
Support for LAist comes from
In its journalistic mode, National Public Radio will actively explore, investigate and interpret issues of national and international import. The programs will enable the individual to better understand himself, his government, his institutions and his natural and social environment so he can intelligently participate in effecting the process of change.
The total service should be trustworthy, enhance intellectual development, expand knowledge, deepen aural esthetic enjoyment, increase the pleasure of living in a pluralistic society and result in a service to listeners which makes them more responsive, informed human beings and intelligent responsible citizens of their communities and the world.
Implementation of Goals
Such statements of purpose are only platitudes and good intentions unless there is the strong commitment, creative energy and specific strategy to implement them. The detailed implementation of National Public Radio is the responsibility of the President and his staff, but some priorities and suggested approaches are necessary to help answer the how and why of NPR.
The priorities of NPR program development:
- Provide an identifiable daily product which is consistent and reflects the highest standards of broadcast journalism.
- Provide extended coverage of public events, issues and ideas, and acquire and produce special public affairs programs.
- Acquire and produce cultural programs which can be scheduled individually by stations.
- Provide access to the intellectual and cultural resources of cities, universities and rural districts through a system of cooperative program development with member public radio stations.
- Develop and distribute programs to specific groups (adult education, instructional, modular units for local productions) which meet needs of individual regions or groups.
- Establish liaison with foreign broadcasters for a program exchange service.
- Produce materials specifically intended to develop the art and technical potential of radio.
Copyright 2025 NPR
Page 1
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 2
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 3
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 4
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 5
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 6
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 7
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 8
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 9
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 10
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 11
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 12
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 13
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 14
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 15
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 16
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 17
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 18
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 19
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 20
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 21
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 22
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 23
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 24
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 25
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 26
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 27
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 28
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 29
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 30
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 31
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
Page 32
(
/ Courtesy of Bill Siemering
/
Courtesy of Bill Siemering
)
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist